A Prison called Wedlock
by Ryth76
Summary: Hinata and Gaara are married, but Hinata loves another and Gaara is gay. How will they deal with loveless wedded life? An arranged marriage friendship!fic. One-sided NaruHina, one-sided NaruGaa. Not GaaHina. No romance. One-shot ONLY.


_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and I do not profit from writing this._

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**A/N: **And now, for something entirely different. I'm still completely stuck on all my stories. I've always been irritated at how much romance and pairing stories this site has, but now I've realized how fun it is to write. Nonetheless, I have written this due to my wish that there was more friendship fics and more realistic stories containing an arranged marriage as a plot device.

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**A Prison called Wedlock**

Hinata tapped manicured nails on the stone desk nervously. She could see her fiancé vaguely through the veil as a mere silhouette. This man wasn't anyone she knew. His smell was much more subtle and subdued than Naruto or Kiba's. There was a definite hint of cologne. His foot scraped the floor as he shifted, silhouette leaning over to sign the paper.

His bodyguards shifted, looming over his shoulder to read the terms of the engagement to ensure there were no traps. Hinata trembled and blushed, now very sure she didn't know the man Konoha had chosen for her. She tried to think of the positive. If she married such a revered man, she would be treated like an empress by their servants.

The slender and composed figure sitting beside her sat upright and attentive, yet there was an air of defeat around him like a dark shadow. Somehow, his displeasure with the situation heartened her. She didn't cry as she signed herself away to one who wasn't the man she loved.

They stood and bowed to the Iron Priest. As the crowd murmured around them incoherently, the stranger took her shaking sweaty hand and pulled her along out of the building. Snow sloshed around their feet, half melted. When they reach their temporary house, built for them by a mysterious man who called himself Yamato, they sat together on the edge of the bed. The man kept a distance between them, silent and forbidding.

Hinata hesitates before lifting her veil. She squeaked at the sight of the red haired man sitting beside her. The Kazekage's dark-ringed eyes widened, then he relaxed. "Hyuuga Hinata." The first words he had ever spoken to her.

Equally surprised, Hinata stuttered out, "K-Kazegake-sama!"

He didn't correct her. His face was still emotionless, but his eyes softened. She was no stranger. "They trapped you, too."

Hinata blushed. "That's…" She lowered her head. "Yeah…" It was no secret that she loved Naruto, though why they made her marry the Kazekage was beyond her. It wasn't like Konoha to arrange the Hyuuga marriages. When had ideas like arranged marriages dominated the norm? "Why did they do this?"

"The Shinobi world is changing. The five villages need strong ninjas and strong ties with each other. This is why people like you and me have been married off. Our children will be used as weapons of war to fight the Akatsuki, while we are separated together from our loves."

She nodded curtly, biting her lip as she fought back tears. She would never be with Naruto. Her spirits were too low for her to inquire who the fierce Kazekage lost at the altar. Gaara shifted beside her. She tried to slow her breathing. Her heart ached, but she was still the permanent diplomat of Konoha to Suna now. She had to act composed and fearless, lest her home village appear weak.

Gaara placed a hand on her shoulder awkwardly. "I understand your pain, Hinata. You are not alone in this."

This was all the permission she needed. Hinata bent over, wailing like a child into her knees. Gaara watched her, his inexperience with this kind of situation apparent on his mildly startled face. He rubbed her back silently.

"I understand," he murmured again. He pulled her to his chest and held her. Hinata ceased her weeping, startled by the closeness. She could still hear the soft patter of tears falling to the wooden floor. Something damp hit her shoulder. She exhaled and closed her eyes. Somehow, her heart ached less from the security of her new husband's arms as he shed silent tears with her. Exhausted from sorrow and fear of the future, she felt herself drift away in his comforting embrace.

As darkness shuttered in the first night of the two unhappily wedded, he whispered into her dark mane, "I loved him, too."

~ f i n ~


End file.
